Hunt of the Salamander
by Lalaliz
Summary: What is this? It's the same story, with the same setting, with the same chara. . . Who is that? *I own nothing*
1. Alternate Beginning

Every gear screeched with an effort to bring the 300 ton weight to a stop next to the yellow line. By which, twenty-some people patiently waited to board. Snakes of steam hissed in relief as it relaxed from the loss of roughly 150 lbs. The owner of this burden was a man in his mid-thirties of tall stature and healthy build. One couldn't really guess that he was that old anyway, especially the way he dressed. You could barely tell under the dark red hoodie, which he had put just over the top half of his eyes, but he was hiding a pair of calming ambers despite his gaze which felt threatening even to a complete stranger. His hair had been dyed vivid red and cut slightly shaggy. On his shoulder a small burden of his own was perched: a common cat but with blue fur and a white underbelly that wouldn't stop its infuriating singing. "_We're in Har-ge-ooooon. We're in Har-ge-ooooon._"

"Happy."

"Aye?"

"That's getting a little annoying," he said through clenched teeth with a vein that wouldn't stop growing in his forehead.

"Sorry, I'm just so excited I had to show it."

"That's okay."

He walked briskly through the station out to the street with head held upright. Without the dark blue jeans with holes in the knees or black tennis shoes, his little swagger was comparable to a knight of King Arthur. He unintentionally deceived those around him into thinking that he knew where he was going. In truth, this was his first time to Hargeon.

The only reason he was here, was because he had caught wind of a rumor hinting that the Salamander was here and would be leaving soon. That wasn't the only reason he needed to hurry, though. Strong a magic as this was that his friend had cast on him, he could only maintain the disguise for so long. He would have had more time to find him if he hadn't worn the spell on the train, but that was unavoidable. The spell could only be cast at a maximum of ten feet from the subject of transformation and the only caster he knew had important matters to attend to so she couldn't come. Even if she could, there was no way the two could survive the train ride without this cover.

He could throw his minutes into a furnace one after another but he wouldn't be able to throw them out faster than he was right now. Stepping outside, he had to focus on each voice if he was going to pick up on Salamander's but there was nothing that could bring him back to the task at hand.

"It's him!"

Except for a giggly voice that came from no where.

"It's the Salamander!"

"Will you sign this, please?"

"I love you!"

"Aye! No way! Did you hear that? They said Salamander was over there!"

Salamander was here? Right in this part of town? It just felt too easy for something he had worked years at, but he wasn't going to ignore the possibility. If there was anything that hinted that he was here, this guy would have ran right at it. Not that he was physically running, though.

Right through the group of crowding girls, he was taking long strides past them. He didn't have push them aside because they instinctively got out of this scary-faced guy's way. He didn't have to get halfway through to get a good look at "Salamander". This wasn't the one that he knew. His hair color was all wrong, no way the Salamander he knew could have gotten this tall, this arrogant, or a tattoo on his face. All that work and wait for nothing.

He felt so disappointed to see this total stranger where a familiar face should have been. For the first time that day, he looked at the ground which he wished he could become one with. Happy wasn't feeling very well, either.

"I'm so sorry. They said he was here, so. . ."

"It's okay, Happy."

He was turning around to go back and wait for his train when the girls scrambled to get a better view, knocking his face to a stone in the center of the circle formed around this unknown "Salamander".

* * *

There was a small sound in the back of Lucy's head like a record coming to a abrupt halt, but it felt like it was slowing to a stop. Although, she had a feeling none of the other girl's here could hear it. She had some suspicions about it before. Why is it that five minutes ago she had never seen this guy and had instantly fallen in love with him? He wasn't particularly handsome and his attitude was arrogant, so it only made sense that the culprit was using a charm spell. Thank what-makes-the-earth-spin that the somberly dressed guy and that cat had fallen down and disturbed the charm's flow.

She couldn't hear much of what they were all saying, but the Salamander was scribbling his name on piece of paper and she caught words "show it off" somewhere in there. Disgusting beast. The one who fell down had gotten up on his feet and was holding his palms to him and waving them as a sign that he didn't want it. The cat was mimicking its companion. He was cut off mid-sentence by a fan girl kicking him out of the circle while shouting insults and demanding his apology to this "great wizard". Salamander told the girls to calm down but mostly faked any sympathy to this stranger they had harmed for him. He took off on a cloud he created shouting an invitation to everyone for a party on a boat. Lucy wouldn't be needing that anyway.

Mystery-guy was pushing the tip of his sleeve up against his cheek to stop the bleeding and infection of a fresh cut. The cat was just fishing around the little pouch in its backpack for a bandage.

"A real jerk, isn't he?" Lucy stated more than asked.

They looked up to see a girl who was probably teenager and blond. The guy couldn't really tell because his vision was still a little blurred.

"You feeling hungry?" She gave him a smile with it. "It'll be on me."

* * *

"So, what _is_ the real Salamander like?" Lucy asked after finishing a sip of tea.

Happy stopped chewing his fish with a worried look up at his friend. The other one put his bowl of rice down and his eyes went from soft and reassuring to an uneasy and dull shade, "He was much nicer than the one you saw, for one thing. I met him seventeen years ago. His favorite thing to do was laugh and it was the most comforting thing in the world to me. You'd have to hear it yourself. I really miss him so when I heard he might be here I couldn't wait to jump on the next train to Hargeon."

She automatically regretted bringing up the subject. It was obviously sensitive to him, so why didn't she pick up on the negative energy of when he started his explanation? She couldn't bear looking at his dejected face so she looked at her own depressed one in the tea. "I'm so sorry. It must have been hard for you."

"Don't apologize if it isn't your fault. It was my fault if anyone's. I'm the one who lost his kid in the first place."

The cat got up to pat his shoulder in comfort.

Lucy snapped out of her self-induced spell. His _k_id? The Salamander was his _kid_?

Noticing her gaping mouth he began to clarify, "I'm his adoptive father and a lousy one at that, Miss. . . uhm. . ."

"Lucy"

"Nice to meet you, Lucy. I'm Igneel the fire dragon."

"And I'm Happy."

She blinked hoping that someone would come take this guy to a loony bin. "A fire dragon?"

"The human form is courtesy of Grandine," he clarified.

* * *

If Hiro Mashima had switched Natsu and Igneel's roles, this is what I think he would do, but that's my midnight-addled brain typing.

I hope you like it!

***EDIT***

*My little brother and I are having a little disagreement about this story.

He thinks this story would be much better if I continued making chapters for it, but I'm afraid that I'll just butcher it.

We couldn't reach a decision on our own, so we're leaving this up to you.

If ten people add this to their "alert list" and at least one person reviews saying that I should, then I will.

The deadline is March 31st.

Enjoy and please review ^_^


	2. Changing Targets

**Lala: Okay peoples, show of hands. Who can tell me what an alliteration is?**

**Lil bro: I know! It's repeating sounds, like "Lalaliz is very lazy".**

**Lala: Wrong! That's a fact. Come join me in the fail-corner.**

**Lil bro: *Sad face***

* * *

"A Dragon, huh?" Lucy mumbled a bit more to herself than anyone. Taking a moment, she finally found the words, "How does that work exactly?"

"How does what work?" Igneel asked while casually sticking his chopsticks back in the bowl of rice.

"You know, no magic in the world can hold for as long as anyone wants to, so what do you do when you're not like this?" At the last part, she made a gesture to show she meant his human form.

"Truthfully, this doesn't affect much. I go through a routine every day." He lazily held his right hand in front of his face and used his fingers to count out each step while allowing the cat time to do the same. "First thing in the morning, Grandine puts this spell on me and her, we all go into town, get to work, then we go eat."

Happy put his hand down to pick up his half-eaten fish before saying, "Plus, the local guild lets us stay in the forest nearby them."

"You have a guild in your town?" Lucy wasn't really looking to ask them. She just wanted to give herself a metaphorical pinch and hope that was not an illusion to her ears. "That must be great. I always wanted to join a guild, you know. One in particular actually. I've heard that they're a little crazy, but that's what I think is so great about them."

"Well, it would definitely make your work very exciting," Igneel agreed with her. Honestly, though, it was a bit creepy to see her run to cloud nine along with a tangent. It was abrupt, random and made him and Happy nervously sweat a bit.

"Oh, I hope so. They're known for causing all kinds of trouble, so I'd be disappointed if I ever got bored," she said while standing up and counting out the tip. "I'd better get going. It was very nice meeting you, Igneel and Happy." The grin she was giving them softened to a sympathetic smile when she added, "I hope you can find Natsu."

Igneel gave her a gentle smile with eyes that looked experienced, which was unusual on a face that looked so young. "Thank you."

"Aye, thanks."

"It was very nice meeting you too, Lucy," Igneel half-smiled after the parting figure. "Good luck getting int-. . . What did you say this guild's name was again?"

Lucy half-turned and looked at them over her shoulder. "Oh, it's Fairy Tail." She turned back to the glass door and left the bell to chime at her exit. It had finished not too long before the two friends at the booth had completely registered her words. By the time they had given the tired bell the same vindictive command, only more violently so, she disappeared into the masses in a magical way that could have been entirely possible in a world such as this.

"Do you see her Happy?"

"I can try to look." Getting a good jump as a start, he could almost be mistaken for a bird overhead had his long cat tail and vivid coloring not betrayed his true identity. He had quickly gained the attention of both citizens and tourists on that street and three over in every direction, none of which, were Lucy. "Sorry, Igneel!" he shouted to reach the ears of the man and, in the process, the onlookers. "I don't know where she is!"

* * *

Lucy had been unknowingly been "hiding" in the park under some trees while reading an issue of a magazine featuring Fairy Tail. Soon, though, she was sucking up to that poser from earlier that day. Stupid pseudo-charm. Stupid her for falling for the stupid pseudo-charm. But whatever. Turns out that he used to know the Guild Master of Fairy Tail. All she had to do was follow him around during the party and pretend to be attracted to him. It was an act that shouldn't be too hard to pull off on a guy who thought it rude for an Emperor of Earth not to bow to him. He'd probably be to busy looking at himself and other girls to notice any disgust she dared to betray.

"Besides, it'll only be for one night," she said to herself while idly kicking a soda can someone had carelessly thrown. "Only one night," _tink_ "with the creep," _tink_ "and at least thirty other girls," _TINK "_who are too blind to see," _TINK_ "that he's not handsome," _TINK_ "or talented," _TINK_ "and isn't going to give them the time of day unless they're pretty!" _Ka-Tink!_ The last kick was anything but idle. In fact, it was reminiscent of a soccer game in which the ball is sent several feet above and past the net, but she felt like she had just won a championship. Forget meditation. _That's_ how you relieve stress.

* * *

Day had soon finished its shift and passed the work down to the moon, which was not unlike Happy and Igneel's system of watching. The poor guy had worn himself out flying up and down the streets, so now it was the dragon's turn to carry him in his arms and take over the job. The cat was rather aptly named at this point, for he looked so blissful in his rest and must have been having a good dream. His rhythmic breathing had apparently been the music soothing the savage beast - the savage, sleep-deprived, irritated beast. Otherwise Igneel would have gone all Godzilla-mode before he could process what he was doing. He was beginning to think that this whole search was in vain and that he should just take the train back before he turned back.

"Wait a minute," he muttered to himself. "Grandine said that the spell would last me long enough to travel between Magnolia and Hargeon, which is a half-hour each trip, with about eight hours to find Natsu and an extra hour in case something stalls the train. So that's ten hours total." Now attempting to count with the fingers on his free hand out. "The train left at twelve o'clock noon. . . and it's. . . nine-thir- Oh for the love o-!"

"Aaack!" the cat shouted with a start. "What's the matter?!"

"Nothing," he tried to calm him down. "We're just running out of time before I turn back. We need to go to the train station right away."

"What are you saying? You're not just going to give up on finding her, are you?"

The hooded man frowned with what appeared to be guilt. "I'm sorry Happy. Believe me when I say that this is hard. I'd stay if I didn't know that I was going back to being a behemoth in. . . Happy, what are you doing? This isn't funny put me down!"

* * *

Yes! I'm done! I'm so glad I finished this chapter. I would like to apologize to all the readers for not posting this sooner. The deal ended 24 days ago and I never said anything about it afterward. By the way, I didn't ever reach those ten people on the alert list. I only got to six. Many thanks to the six people who participated, but I decided to continue writing this story anyway.

Thank you for the 174 views as of today.

Please enjoy and review! ^_^


	3. The Volcano

Some people enjoying looking from above just for the view, others for the thrill. They find it stunning, and sometimes serene. It becomes a source of joy for some, and a crippling fear for others. For Igneel, it was filled with many memories good and bad. This particular memory had a decidedly melancholy sensation behind it, but he was a bit more concerned with getting away from the beach. There were hardly any people out there to see them, but "hardly" was far too many for him.

He tried to bend over so he could see the arm that had been wrapped under the cat's tail. The hands of the watch on his wrist were still racing each other and refused to stop for anything, even his look of disapproval at the minute hand that had swung out to 9:45. "Happy." The cat ignored him. "I know you feel sad about not finding her, but Lucy's not a baby. She can look out for herself and if you really want to we'll go tomorrow with Grandine and see if we can find her. If we go back to the woods now, we could probably make our way back to Magnolia quietly. Okay?"

Happy half turned his head and glanced back at the friend he was carrying with a defeated look on his face, and he began to softly mumble something that Igneel later imagined was something like, "Would you have. . ."

"What? Happy I can't h-"

"Oh my gosh! It's so cute!"

"I know, right?"

It was two girls, probably thirteen or so, looking dressed up for a fancy party. They were waving their hands in the air to get his attention like they didn't already have it.

"Here kitty-kitty," they half-spoke half-sang. "We have something for you."

Igneel glared at the cat not to get any closer to them, but he looked right back as if to plead with him. Their eyes spoke to each other for a while until Igneel gave in. "Alright," he conceded. "Go see what they want." Happy lowered himself to their eye-level and just out of arms reach. "What's that?" He tried to play along, acting innocently.

Like a spell, the girls couldn't lift their heads. "Would you deliver this letter to Salamander please?" the first asked. "We can pay you for your time," the second offered.

"Hmm. . ." He looked to Igneel who sighed in resignation. Looking up he asked, "Okay, where is he?"

"Out there on the really big boat. You know what he looks like, right?"

"Yes, I've seen him before."

"Oh, good. We'd just couldn't bear it if one of the other guild members got it instead."

"He's a member of a guild?

"Uh-huh. If I knew magic, I'd be in Fairy Tail faster than you could think." The girl went to blushing, probably fantasizing about her life in the guild.

The cat made a face: the only kind of face one could make in that sort of situation.

"What are you waiting for, Happy?" the masked monster only partially asked. "We've been given a job haven't we? That makes it top priority. We'd better go find that boat." He grinned a little maliciously under the hood and a vein gradually growing in his head.

* * *

"_How did I _not_ see this coming?_" Lucy asked herself silently. She knew that Not-Salamander had asked her to the party for a reason, but it was with thousands of other people. "What could happen?" she had asked herself. Only in the face of reality, did "mass-kidnapping" seem like an acceptable answer.

Her stellar keys were in the water and she was being held down for sedation until they reached Boscow.

Not the way she had hoped that this would go.

She was hoping a bit more for a bit of small talk with some other girls on the ship, maybe some good food and getting penciled in for a word with the guild master. Now, she would be lucky to make through the trip in a dignified manner. Maybe "blessed" would be a more fitting word than "lucky".

At first she writhed underneath the strong arms pinning her down the same way game struggles underneath bear traps and in nets. Then she just stopped and shuddered preparing her body to take the shot or pill or whatever it was.

_Smash!_

Suddenly, the floor had been dusted with a snowfall of glass from the window. It's funny how two things that are so unalike can mimic each other so easily; like snowflakes and glass shards. They both create sensations the human body does not favor, the snow with its wintry cold and the glass which can pierce the skin at many sizes, even as dust. The Not-Salamander had the misfortune of experiencing this the most difficult way possible. He stood up and took a step backwards in a nearly fear-frozen attempt to get away from Igneel, then slipped and fell into the powder, little bits irritating his skin and drawing small drops of blood every time he moved.

That was all Lucy got to see before a member of the gang had come to his senses and taken the opportunity to knock her flat. From there, there wasn't much to miss, but she will testify later that as her eyes closed, she witnessed Igneel glow in a soft way, like the spot-light had just moved his way. Of course, it is considered a law of nature that everything from embers to wildfires produce some measure of energy in the form of light.

* * *

The two had been watching through the porthole and knew that they needed to act fast. Whatever was going on in there, it looked like those guys were gloating and taking their time, just so they could scare her. Neither of them liked it, but they had to tear their faces away and fix it.

Nimbly and silently as a little blue bird, Happy brought them both to the crow's nest on the main mast, using the full sail as cover from the man at the wheel. From this point, they could see that he was hardly focused at all on the task at hand; as though they had done this so many times, he could get the job done come the tides, storms or swift hits to the head. Considering he didn't handle the last one so easily, Igneel supposed that he couldn't take the other two either.

After binding him, gagging him, and throwing him in the closet, it was all just a matter of waiting. Protecting the girls and waiting. All he had to do was intimidate these criminals and maybe show off a bit: nothing difficult. All he really needed was a few more seconds: three, two, one. And he was his own volcanic eruption.

He hissed a little fire at them as his transformation slowly fizzled away with all his remaining time. The flames grew bigger as every part of the disguise melted together into scaly red skin, wings and claws. Every concious mind aboard the ship had a hard time taking all this in. Some sat there dumbly and peered into half-finished wine bottles for an explanation, others screamed and fainted in doing so. He half-stumbled in his growing figure to the shattered window and leaped out to the sea as his wings spread wide and carried him inches above the surface. A simple graceful twist brought him to the stern where he fiercely beat his wings for all he had. The sails filled with its force while Happy joyfully hung from the steering wheel, swinging the rudder back and forth as Igneel commanded. Once the docks began to peek over the horizon, the dragon and cat backed away from the boat and let it float back to some very curious townsfolk, among them the police.

"And with that, I think we have a story to tell around the campfire," Igneel rumbled.

Happy had no comment as he slept curled up on the crown of his friend's head, mumbling something about a fish he refused to share.

* * *

Hi guys, I'm back and not dead. Let's hope that I can buckle down long enough to make chapter four.

Thanks for all the views. I don't deserve you people ^\\\^

Enjoy and please review ^_^


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